BOSTON, Oct 23 (AFP) - Mark Bellhorn blasted a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Boston Red Sox an 11-9 victory over St. Louis here Saturday in the opening game of the 100th World Series.
Bellhorn, the last hitter in the Boston batting order, smacked the offering from St. Louis reliever Julian Tavarez off the right-field boundary pole to deliver the winning runs for a club that has not won a Series title since 1918.
The Cardinals will try to level the best-of-seven Major League Baseball championship series in game two here Sunday, when St. Louis pitcher Matt Morris faces Boston's Curt Schilling, on the mound despite a torn right ankle tendon.
Weak pitching from numerous relievers and four Boston errors led to drama on a cold, blustery night at 92-year-old Fenway Park, where Bellhorn's blast gave the Red Sox their best one-game World Series run total since the 1903 original.
Boston's David Ortiz drove in four runs, giving him 19 runs batted in for the playoffs to match the one-season record set by Cleveland's Sandy Alomar in 1997 and equalled by Anaheim's Scott Spiezio in 2002.
Boston left-fielder Manny Ramirez committed errors on consecutive plays in the eighth inning, allowing St. Louis two runs that knotted the game at 9-9.
The Dominican bobbled a ball hit by Edgar Renteria allowing one run to score, then stumbled chasing down a fly ball from Larry Walker that brought home Roger Cedeno with the tying run.
Boston reliever Keith Foulke, the third Red Sox pitcher of the inning, struck out Jim Edmonds with the bases loaded to keep the Cardinals from taking the lead.
In the ninth inning, Foulke allowed Marlon Anderson a double but induced a pop out from Yadier Molina and struck out Roger Cedeno to end the game.
Boston seized a 9-7 edge in the seventh inning on run-scoring singles by Ortiz and Ramirez. Ortiz hit a run-scoring line drive single that bounced off Cardinals second baseman Tony Womack, who left the game with a sore collarbone.
St. Louis had levelled at 7-7 in the sixth when Walker doubled in Renteria. Japan's So Taguchi ignited the rally with a two-out bunt single, took third on a throwing error and scored a Renteria double.
The Red Sox, in their first World Series since 1986, have an 86-year title drought that began the year Harry Frazee sold star Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to start what Boston fans call the "Curse of the Bambino".
The Cardinals seek their 10th Series title, second only to the 26 won by the Yankees, and their first crown since 1982. St. Louis beat the Red Sox in seven games to win the World Series in 1946 and 1967.
Ortiz smacked his fifth homer of the playoffs over the right-field pole in the first inning to give Boston a 3-0 lead, joining 1967 pitcher Jose Santiago as the only Red Sox to hit homers in their Series batting debut.
Kevin Millar doubled and scored on Bill Mueller's single to give Boston a 4-0 lead.
St. Louis answered quickly. Edmonds singled, advanced on a walk and scored on a pair of sacrifices in the second inning. Walker, 4-for-4 at the plate, hit a homer around the right-field pole in the third to pull the Cards within 4-2.
The Red Sox added three runs in the third inning and forced out St. Louis starting pitcher Woody Williams, who allowed six of the first nine Boston batters to reach base.
But Boston starter Tim Wakefield was benched after giving up three runs in the fourth inning. The knuckleballer issued three walks to load the bases and Cardinal runners scored on a sacrifice fly, a throwing error and a ground out.
There was a moment of silence for Victoria Snelgrove, a 21-year-old Red Sox fan who died after being struck in the eye by a pepper spray pellet fired by a policeman trying to control a crowd celebrating Boston reaching the Series.

10/24/2004 04:16 GMT - AFP